Week 5 ~ Slow and Steady

They sure do keep dad busy here! Everyday dad has physical therapy and occupational therapy along with speech therapy twice a day. The 1st day of therapy dad was only able to take a few steps. By the time I left Wednesday he was not only walking up and down the PT room but also around the unit and to his own room. Dad also is able to spin on the stationary bike during therapy. I told him before he knew it he would be riding a 100 miles with me, he smiled and commented, "Yea . . . all downhill!" I laughed my butt off, feels good to see his sense of humor coming back :)
Dad does a swallowing test everyday. He has had problems aspirating when he eats. He is making progress, when I left on Wednesday he was allowed to have ice chips. His therapist believes he will be on solid foods by next week which we are all excited about. They have a soda machine in the therapy room and every time we pass it dad wants his coke!
We are working towards getting dad an off campus pass. This requires the family to be trained in several areas including how to use the wheelchair, seizure and emergency training. As soon as the dr clears him we will be able to take dad to the outdoor patios, garden and rec room without a one on one assistant. The rec room here is fun. They have ping pong, a pool and a garden. Dad is able to participate in several rec classes including fishing. Anybody who knows dad knows how much he loves his fishing ;)
Dad is making progress everyday, I see him become more clear and aware of his surroundings. With that being said he still shows some delays in his cognition and thinking. It takes him a minute to answer questions and remember things. His memory is slowly coming back, the last time I spoke to him he wanted to call his work at Salt Creek to let them know where he was. He hasn't worked there for 10+ years. The dr says this is normal for a brain injury and things will return slowly but surely. He will probably never remember falling or being at McKay Dee Hospital. The 1st day of speech therapy dad scored a 7 on his cognitive test the very next day he scored a 23. His therapist said she has never seen improvement like this in her career. This is an encouraging sign towards his recovery. The first 10 days at the hospital are used for assessment. There has been a Care Team meeting scheduled for Monday, Aug 5th to discuss his care plan, progress as well as a discharge date. Mike and I will be flying into Denver for this meeting.
My sister, Emily, arrived in Denver on Wednesday to be with my dad. Victoria, Brayden and Landen came with Emily and they were able to visit with papa for the 1st time since the accident. This was a beautiful moment for the family, dad's face lit up when he saw his grandchildren. After giving Emily the tour and updating her on dad's progress I returned to Utah to be with my family. The plan is to alternate weeks to enable us to return to work and be with our own families. She will be taking pictures and communicating dad's progress with me and I will give an update on the blog every few days.